


Music Box, The

by orphan_account



Category: The West Wing
Genre: F/M, Vignette
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2000-11-24
Updated: 2000-11-24
Packaged: 2019-05-15 12:27:06
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,441
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14790510
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account
Summary: Toby and CJ celebrate her birthday.





	Music Box, The

**Author's Note:**

> A copy of this work was once archived at National Library, a part of the [ West Wing Fanfiction Central](https://fanlore.org/wiki/West_Wing_Fanfiction_Central), a West Wing fanfiction archive. More information about the Open Doors approved archive move can be found in the [announcement post](http://archiveofourown.org/admin_posts/8325).

Disclaimers: The West Wing and it's characters are the property of Aaron Sorkin, Warner Brothers and NBC. No copyright infringement is intended. No profit is being made from this.

Rating: PG

Summary: Toby and CJ celebrate her birthday.

Author's Notes: I would like to thank AJ for her help with this, and for giving me a couple of ideas. This is a small vignette, most of which takes place between "Changes" and "Please Forgive Me" , the rest of it takes place in the future.

 

CJ was standing in the doorway to Meghan's room. She still couldn't get over all of the changes Meghan had brought to her life. Or how much she had changed Toby. It was truly amazing to watch him with her sometimes. He loved doing little things with Meghan, and it seemed that they already had a close bond. CJ kissed Meghan, and then left the room.

She had learned quickly to do any work she had to do after Meghan had gone to sleep. It was much easier than the alternative. The apartment was very quiet, and she hoped she would be able to get a lot accomplished. Toby had driven she and Meghan come that evening, and had then gone back to work. Sometimes CJ wondered if it would not be easier for them to take separate cars, but so far it had not caused them many problems.

It was hours later when Toby came home. The apartment was completely dark, and the first thing he did was check on Meghan. It amazed him how much she had grown. She had started crawling a few weeks earlier, and she was into everything. She was very curious about the world around her. When he went into the bedroom, he found CJ asleep. It never ceased to surprise him how soundly she could sleep. Quite often he would be the first one to wake up when Meghan would cry. He would then get her and bring her to CJ. Just as he started to lie down, Meghan started to cry. As he felt CJ start to get up, he stopped her.

"I'll get her." Toby said.

"Okay, I'll get her bottle."

A few minutes later when CJ walked into the nursery, she found Toby sitting in a chair with Meghan. She was a little quieter than she had been earlier.

"Do you want me to feed her?" CJ asked.

"No, I have her right now. I'll do it." Toby said.

"Okay." CJ said. She handed him the bottle, and then sat down on the table next to him.

"She's growing up." Toby remarked.

"That's what she is supposed to be doing."

"I know, but sometimes I wish she would stay like this."

"Why?"

"I don't know." Toby said. "She's very cute right now."

"She always will be to us." CJ said.

"Yeah."

"I had them call me when you left the White House." CJ said.

"Why?"

"I didn't want to go to sleep until you had left."

"Because of Meghan?"

"Yeah."

"You heard her crying."

"Yeah. It's so strange. I used to not sleep this soundly."

"I know. It started while you were pregnant."

"Yeah, and it's not going away."

"It will."

"Toby, it's been six months."

"You had a hard time. You're fine."

"Yeah." CJ said as she watched Toby put Meghan back into the crib. He then held his hand out to her.

"Do you know what tomorrow is?" Toby asked her when they were in the hallway.

"Yes, but I really would rather forget."

"You want to forget your birthday?"

"Okay, I would rather that you forgot about it."

"I don't know why."

"I told you I don't want a fuss."

"What makes you think I would fuss over such an insignificant event?"

"Because you are you."

"Okay."

"I really wish you wouldn't do anything."

"What do you think the chances of that are?" Toby asked as he lowered her to the bed.

"Slim." CJ replied just before he started to kiss her.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

When Toby woke up the next morning, CJ was snuggled very close to him. He kissed her shoulder, and got up. He walked into Meghan's room to check on her. She was still asleep, but he knew she wouldn't be for long. So he sat down in the rocking chair to wait for his daughter to wake him. His daughter, there were times that it still shocked him that he was a father. That this tiny little life depended on him for so much. It was a wonderful feeling, but it was very frightening at the same time. His thoughts were interrupted as Meghan started to cry. He quickly went to get the bottle he had warmed up for her when he first got up.

"Good morning, sweetheart." Toby said as he started to fed the bottle to Meghan. "Do you know what today is? It's your mommy's birthday. She doesn't want me to make a fuss. I'm not planning to make a fuss, in fact I'm planning..."

"If Daddy doesn't watch it. He's going to tell Mommy exactly what he has planned." CJ said sleepily from the doorway.

"Why did you stop me?"

"Because I know that you would have been upset that you had accidentally told me."

"Okay."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

CJ stood in the doorway of the nursery watching Toby say goodnight to Meghan. She was starting to notice when her father did not come in to say goodnight. CJ couldn't help but wonder what it would be like when Meghan started talking. As he came out of the room, he put his arm around her waist.

"Come with me." Toby said as he led her down the hallway towards the dining room

When they got there, CJ saw that the room was illuminated only by candlelight. "I thought I clearly told you I didn't want a fuss."

"This was not a fuss."

"Oh, really then what would a fuss have been?"

"A fuss would have been something that would have required a lot of time and energy to do."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

They had eaten in silence. Afterwards Toby led her into the living room, and told her to stay there until he came back. She knew that he had gone to get her birthday present. She would not admit to him how curious she really was about what it was.

"Happy Birthday." Toby said when he came back into the room. He placed a package into her hands.

"Thank you." She said.

"Aren't you going to open it?"

"In a minute." CJ said. She then leaned over and kissed him.

"Now are you going to open it?"

"Yes, if it will make you happy." CJ carefully tore the paper from the package.

"Don't you think it would be quicker to just rip the paper from it?"

"Toby, I'm the one opening this."

"Okay."

When she finished opening it, she found a green enameled jewelry box. She looked closer at it, and saw that it was a music box. "I take it this is for all of the jewelry that you like to buy me." She said as she wound the music box up.

"Yeah." Toby said as she opened the box, and the tones of Rachmaninoff's "Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini" begun to play.

"I love this piece." CJ said.

"I remember."

Toby sat the music box on the table. He pulled CJ into his arms and started to dance very slowly with her.

"Thank you." CJ said.

"For what?"

"You've made this a very nice birthday."

"That was my intention."

"You succeeded." CJ said as Toby started to kiss her.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Forty years later.

She walked slowly into the room, leaning heavily on the cane that she had been using for the last three years. The first thing that she noticed was the music box that was sitting on the table. It was very fitting on this day that she would notice it. He had given it to her forty years earlier. As she looked at it, she couldn't help but think of that day. She picked it up and held it in her hand for a moment. She wound it up, and the music started to play as clearly as it had all of those years before. She let the music take her away to all of the other birthdays and special days that they had spent together over the years. As she sat the music box back down, she heard her daughter call to her. It was time to leave. There was so much she had to face that day, and somehow she had to get through it.

 

The end.

  

  


End file.
